This sweet, salty spiced salmon gets cooked to perfection on the grill and topped with a refreshing, simple cucumber peach salsa. I love using chili powder, but you could use any spice mixture that you like (cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, garlic, etc…). Make sure you get salmon with the skin on – the skin sort of acts like a natural tinfoil for the salmon so that the salmon flesh doesn’t stick or get burnt.
Ingredient highlight
Salmon! the fish we all love because it’s flaky, fatty and a lot harder to overcook/mess up than other fish. It also happens to be packed with more nutrients than I have space to talk about here. It’s one of the most nutritious fish because of it’s super high omega-3 fat content (DHA and EPA). It’s also a great source of protein, potassium, selenium, and vitamin B12.
I always try to buy wild salmon if it’s available. Wild Alaskan salmon is the cleanest source!
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 lb wild salmon, cut into 4 fillets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the salsa:
- 1-2 ripe peaches or nectarines, chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ large or 1 small cucumber, peeled, chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- Note: either of this week's salads pairs great with the salmon. You could also just serve it with some cooked grains and throw some veggies on the grill with the salmon for a nourishing bowl.
Instructions
- Heat your grill up on high for at least 15 minutes. Keep one part of your grill on high heat and the other on low.
- In a large bowl, mix together sugar, spices, and salt.
- Add salmon to the bowl and toss/rub to coat all sides of the salmon in the spices (some spices will likely still fall to the bottom of the bowl). Add olive oil and rub all over to coat along with the spices.
- Transfer the salmon fillets, skin-side-down, to the hot grill and cook, covered, for 6-8 minutes or until almost all the way cooked through. Flip the salmon and transfer it to the lower heat part of your grill and cook, covered, for 2-4 minutes more, or until cooked through (easily flakes with a fork).
- In a medium bowl, mix together the peach, cucumber, cilantro, lime, and salt. Serve salmon topped with salsa.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Mix together the spice mixture
- Prep the salmon and coat it in the spice mixture and olive oil
- Prep the peach/nectarine, cucumber, and cilantro
- Make the salsa
Substitutions:
- You can substitute any fish that you like to grill for the salmon. If it’s a fish with less fat content, it would be really nice to add avocado on top or into the salsa.
- To make this vegetarian/vegan, use that same spice mixture on a slab of tofu or a portobello mushroom. I’ve never grilled tofu, but you can bake it at 425F until it’s lightly browned/crispy on the outside.
- You can use any ripe seasonal fruit in place of the peach/nectarine (mango, pineapple, apricot, cherry, etc…)AND any crunchy raw veg in place of the cucumber (fennel, celery, radish, etc…)
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Salmon: in the fridge for up to 3 days
- Salsa: in the fridge for up to 4 days
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Enjoy the salmon at room temp or pop into the microwave until just warm. Top with salsa.
- Either of this week’s salads pairs great with the salmon. You could also just serve it with some cooked grains and throw some veggies on the grill with the salmon for a nourishing bowl.
- Flake the salmon and add it to a salad or bowl.
- Leftover salsa is delicious on bowls, grilled veggies, or simply as a dip for chips!
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